A woman has claimed that she wrote her own script based on the story of the Titanic before the 1997 film's release, which bears an incredible likeness to the James Cameron blockbuster. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose, Titanic is often cited as the 'most romantic film of all time.' It has gone on to win innumerable awards since its initial release in 1997. The film tells of the real-life tragedy that befell the passengers of the RMS Titanic's maiden voyage in 1912, which sank in the Atlantic ocean after it collided with an iceberg. However, Jack and Rose's roles within the story were solely added in the name of fiction.

Cameron's impressive feat of cinema earned Titanic the title of the highest-grossing film of all time. This achievement went undisturbed until 2010, when the director overtook his own position with another one of his highly-ambitious cinematic releases, Avatar. Cameron's films maintained their first and second place positions until 2019, when Anthony and Joe Russo's Avengers: Endgame knocked it from its top spot (before Avatar could reclaim its number 1 spot last year thanks to a rerelease in China). One might accredit Titanic's success to its unique story and how it incorporates romance into what is essentially a disaster film; however, now it appears that Cameron may not have been the first to think of it.

Related: Why James Cameron Used Fake Characters To Tell Titanic's Real Story

A writer named Liz Smith claims to have written her own script that tells the story of two doomed lovers on the Titanic before James Cameron released his 1997 feature. Speaking to Inverse, Smith says that she was inspired by Thomas Hardy's poem "The Convergence of the Twain" to write the story of a wealthy boy and a poor girl who would ultimately fall in love during their voyage on the Titanic. Smith said that her version of the story echoed the themes of Romeo and Juliet, with the two lovers ultimately going down with the ship. Smith then acknowledged that writers cannot retell stories such as Titanic and that her idea is now "burned" despite her hard work. Check out Smith's quote below.

There was probably a tinge of ‘Oh no!' We tell the same stories over and over and over again, but sometimes certain high concepts can't be done again. Romeo and Juliet, you can do a million times, but Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic? That idea is now burned. You can't do that again.

Smith acknowledged the purely coincidental nature of the two stories and said that she loved Cameron's film. Smith noted the similarities between their scripts excited her upon seeing the film, saying she was particularly fond of Cameron's focus on its historical accuracy. Cameron recently revealed he edited a scene in Titanic following its release in 3D after being inspired by Neil deGrasse Tyson to make the night sky above Rose in one of the film's final scenes as historically and scientifically accurate as possible.

In another bizarre coincidence, Smith ended up working for Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who located the wreck of the Titanic, so it's fair to say things worked out well for the wannabe screenwriter in the end. While Smith appears to have no hard feelings towards Cameron for telling the story of the Titanic first, it certainly is interesting to imagine what could have been if Titanic had been released without James Cameron at the helm. Audiences don't have long to wait now for Cameron's latest upcoming project, as his highly-anticipated Avatar sequel is set for release later this year.

Next: What James Cameron Got Wrong About The Titanic's Sinking In 1997

Source: Inverse